act18mini

Who said you can't truly kill a Nachzehrer? This one seems pretty dead to me!

Careful there! You dinnae want to be near a Nachzehrer corpse long!

The Nachzehrer warrior's body quickly collapses, losing all form and color.

An invisible fog takes up the form of the dead, and gently embraces the remains.

It just rots on its own? That quick?

If we dinnae get away now, we and that body both'll be Nachzehrer food.

Bloody hell, and there I was, thinking the Nachzehrer weren't such bloody monsters after all...

It'll be fine, alright! Where d'you come from? Think about home! All that sun and hay and beer, you know!

I think you'll feel a wee bit better puttin' all this rot out of your mind!

I'm from Londinium! All I had at home was sourdough hard enough to smash skulls!

Aye, that works!

Yeah, works for me!

Death and decay are defined by silence. I never thought the Sudaram could operate so noisily.

No longer do the Nachzehrer try to keep their nature in check. They are allowing decay to run unchecked.

Meaning it'll be harder to stop the spread of rot?

A pair of hands cannot stop rushing water.

But they can easily spray the water further.

What if we 'diluted' the rot, Logos?

Hang in there. You'll get better.

AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!! DO I LOOK LIKE I'LL GET BETTER TO YOU?!

A natural effect of rapidly applying healing Arts.

Take this, give it to—argh! Uh—

—The pain... it's getting better?

Do not choose the end out of pain, soldier. Endure.

The pain will stop, in time.

Thank you, Sarkaz...

Listen to Liz, it'll be alright. In cases of acute Infection, we have to avoid rapid emotional fluctuations. Take a deep breath, and—

Message from the Doctor, Nearl.

Shining, Nearl, Nightingale, are you in the rear?

We're at the rear camp. Just returned with a bunch of wounded.

How is Nightingale?

Weak, but she refused to abandon the injured to their fates. We'll take care of her.

I need you to pull out of the area, along with everybody in camp.

Doctor, you...

Let us know if you need any support.

The Nachzehrer shroud won't be easily dispelled with Arts.

We'll divert the fog of decay to nearby areas.

Do your best to ensure that no one's caught in it.

Roger.

...The more lives we save, the less decay there is to feed on.

It's the duty of the Followers, isn't it?

Nearl. Shining. There's no time to rest.

Liz...

Liz's blue fowlbeast perches on Shining's shoulder, rubbing against her cheek.

*Sigh* Sometimes I just don't know what to do with you.

Nearl?

Go and save some lives. As for the enemy—

Leave them to my spear and shield.

'Bzzz—bzzzz—'

'Bzzzt—'

Wow, I never knew fog could be so noisy!

The interference is too strong! Might be easier to yell than get a signal through!

We can't place the repeaters directly on the ground! The fog eats away at the antennae!

If we put up a shield...

No, with interference like this, that'd just block whatever's left of the signal.

What if we carried the repeaters?

The fog won't eat at the equipment as long as we're still alive, right?

Closure clenches her comms terminal tightly, but she can feel the pain of its metal corners biting into her skin fading away. Her limbs are becoming numb.

The fog clings to all life equally, inviting them to join the procession of decay.

She knows what Fang's suggestion implies. She wants to reject it.

But she does not.

You go. I'll stay here with the base station.

Think, Closure, think! If this fog is from Nachzehrer Arts, then that can't just be meaningless noise.

Identify the pattern, and we can filter it out!

Mm...

There it is! It's not noise, it's the voice of the Nachzehrer!

Even if their flesh has decayed, even if their consciousness has long faded, the lifeforce of the Nachzehrer continues to sing in joy as they return to the Cycle.

No idea what you're so happy about, but I'm sick of hearing it!

Lemme see... a little more over here...

'Bzzz—bzzzz—'

'Clo—sure—bzzz'

I'm getting a signal! But it's still not enough...

How about this?

That's what I'm talking about! Wait, Misery? How did you...?

I can cut a path through the fog for communications.

Great! Now we can hear what—

3rd Caster Battalion! Engage the Nachzehrer emerging from behind the lines!

Don't let them cut us off from the Exemplars!

The weight-bearing structures of the corridors to the sides of the plaza are heavily damaged! They're about to collapse!

Watch out for falling debris!

The whole battlefield...

...It's connected.

Now I have killed. A Victorian girl wearing a bright printed scarf on her head.

Her scarf faded and her complexion twisted before my face. She became no different from the musbeasts I killed, only bigger and more hollow.

Her life must have flowed into me. I find myself swinging the greatsword that they gave me, almost as tall as I am.

But I don't feel the ecstasy they spoke of.

AHHH—!

Phew—you, you're rotten too.

If I don't rot, you will, is that it?

Wh—What's that?

The massive explosion almost ruptures the young Nachzehrer's eardrums. A massive suit of armor flies past him.

The fog gently picks away the broken limbs the armor is wearing, pale fragments dispersing with the steam.

Several Sudarams fly towards it, their swords making screeching sounds on the metal, piercing the dull thud of Originium explosives.

(Sound of gushing steam)

Metal... shall... decay...

The young Nachzehrer has no time to look back. Heavy metal legs break the fog in front of him, blocking out the already-dim sunlight.

How many years do you think it took us to build The Crawler? You think we'd just let you eat it?

Armor plate to the portside foreleg!

Does the main gun still turn? Two o'clock, fire!

Blast a path through the Sudaram for the Steam Knight!